Jadine's Story

My name is Jadine. I grew up in Jersey and I have oculocutaneous albinism which impairs my vision. I spent a lot of my teenage years drawing and writing using an iPad which was gifted to me to use as a visual aid at school, and I honestly haven’t stopped painting on it! 

I moved to the UK when I was 18 to study a BA in Digital Arts and then an MSc in Computer Animation at the University of Kent, and now I’m focusing on developing my portfolio, working as a freelancer and streaming my digital art live on twitch which has been acquiring a lovely following! All these experiences have boosted my confidence tremendously, and I grow more and more passionate about digital art every day. 

I’ve always had a wonderful supportive family, and some amazing teachers and TAs throughout my school years and of course the incredible support of EYECAN. After a difficult time at school and a tricky 1st year at uni, I have made some amazing solid friends and met a wonderful partner, all of whom have shown me nothing but love, support, and care.

I’m hoping to land a job as an animator soon, maybe for somewhere like Disney or Warner Media. To be honest I’d be happy doing anything 3D or 2D art related, from storyboarding to polishing up the final parts of a film or tv show. 

I’ve had a lot of challenges to face and hurdles to jump, and I certainly still have some ahead. It sometimes feels like I have to work twice as hard to get half as far.  Despite this, I’m so proud of myself for what I’ve overcome and achieved. It’s not easy accessing the world that isn’t built for your eyes, and the world needs to work on being better for those with physical disabilities like mine.  

But while we work to make the world a better place for the visually impaired, we can still get through, we can still do whatever we want, whenever we want. With a bit of self-care and hard work (though not too much hard work), there is always a way.